Bank of Valletta has been asked by the representative of a number of investors to suspend its offer which he described as "unfair and a ruse".
Paul Bonello, from Finco Treasury Management, which represented a number of investors in the La Valette multi-manager property fund, told a news conference this afternoon, that investors were being asked by the bank to take up an offer on which they had little or no information.
Mr Bonello, who has filed a number of judicial procedures against the bank, said that those taking up the offer would be giving up their right to take legal bank against the bank, irrespective of any findings the MFSA may make.
The MFSA has so far concluded one investigation, although the report and the findings have not been published. Investors, he said, only got to know of this development yesterday through Bank of Valletta.
The bank yesterday admitted that the MFSA had a differing interpretation of the investment restrictions included in the prospectus of the fund.
It offered investors 75c per share to draw a line underneath the dispute.
Mr Bonello said this amount could easily be double what the bank offered.
He explained that in other countries financial institutions were made to pay back the initial capital invested with interest.
"We are ready to negotiate the interest."
However, he said he would not be taking decisions on behalf of his clients for whom a meeting was being held on Wednesday for the situation to be explained.
The bank's offer expires on June 30 and bank reserved the right to withdraw it if there was less than 70 per cent take up.
This, Mr Bonello pointed out was only an excuse to force shareholders into accepting the offer because if it wanted, the bank had enough shareholders of its own to surpass the 70 per cent mark.
While applauding the MFSA for concluding one of the investigations, he lamented the fact that it had taken it nine whole months and there were two other investigations that were still pending.
He asked the MFSA whether it approved the bank's offer.
Mr Bonello said that, in theory, Malta had state of the art legislation intended to protect investors but, in practice, the MFSA did not seem to have the personality to implement it.
He said he expected the MFSA to live up to its obligations and defend the investors who were being bullied by the bank into accepting its offer.